The wagon train (马车队) had been traveling for weeks now. Emily was getting tired — tired of not having a comfortable bed to sleep in or a 1 home. She was also 2 because there was never anything fun for a girl of her age to do. Mama promised it wouldn't be too much longer, 3 the trip seemed to take forever.

    Then, one day, a rabbit caught Emily's eye. Maybe she could 4it, and then she'd have a pet! Emily ran after the rabbit into the woods behind the wagons, but it 5. Emily looked for it, and at last she 6. She turned to go back, but 7looked familiar (熟悉的). She started in one direction, but it was the wrong 8. Emily tried another direction, but soon found that that was 9, too.

    Emily was   10. What if she couldn't 11 the wagons? What if they didn't realize she was 12 and just kept moving farther and farther away from her? What if some dangerous animal attacked her?

    Emily sat on the ground and started to cry ... but wait ... did she hear 13? She stood up and ran toward them. As she got 14, she recognized Mama's voice and the voices of some of the men from the 15. Then she could see them. Emily ran as 16 as she could, right into Mama's 17 arms.

    Mama carried Emily back to their wagon and put her to bed. Emily was 18 that she was home. 19 was wherever Mama was. She'd never 20 about being bored again.

    Many years ago at Christmas time I parked my car in the town centre on my way to the post office to post my Christmas cards. It was the last posting day for Christmas cards if they were to be 1 before Christmas.2 I came out of the car park I saw a boy who was 3 and holding his fight hand side. I 4 some bigger boys had perhaps bullied him and he was in 5 .I had to go to his aid and see if I could 6.

    He told me that his sister who was a 7 had bought him a Christmas present. It was a mobile phone. He only had it days when he 8 it and cracked the screen! That's 9 he was holding his right hand side of his body—his mobile phone was in the upper right hand pocket of his coat. The little guy was extremely 10 , tears rolling down his face as he told all this to me. My heart 11 for him. It was clear he 12 his present and knew that this was a lot of money for his 13 to spend on him, for nurses didn't make much money. He'd been to a phone shop and they'd told him it would be￡80 to get a new 14 .

    I had to help, though I was 15 to make ends meet myself. I searched my purse and gave the boy the only￡20 I could find and made some 16 as to why I could only give him so little. I didn't want him to know it was all I had until pay day. I could not 17 pay for his phone to be repaired but I hope the 18 he received from a stranger was 19 that stayed with him when he became a man.

    The Christmas cards not getting posted somehow didn't seem 20 ; greater issues had been addressed with a kindness stamp.

    I grew up with a fat dad ­ 450 pounds at his heaviest. Every week he would try a new diet, and my family 1 eating whatever strange food he was trying at that moment. By the time I was nine, I was a(n) 2 on losing weight. I spent four weeks 3 only small bowls of white rice at home. What I remember most about those years is that I 4 felt hungry ­ hungry for food, hungry for someone to care for me and I 5 to be cared for.

    But on Friday nights, I was 6 hungry. My grandfather would take me to his home for the 7. There was always a pot of something cooking on the 8. It was at my grandmother's house that I learned what true 9 was.

    After my third-grade year, my family had to move away from hometown, and leave my grandmother and her delicious food 10. There would be no more special weekends at my grandmother's house. It was total 11 for survival. In this new city, I felt extremely lonely and lost, and I missed my grandmother 12.

    My grandmother knew just how I felt and she knew the 13. Every week, she would send me a card with a $20 bill, a recipe and a list of what to buy at the market. It kept us 14, and her recipes filled my body and soul.

    Over the years, I have 15 to better understand my father's 16 with weight and 17 growing up in such an unhealthy eating environment, I found a 18 for a career as a nutrition (营养) consultant.

    Today, food is no longer a 19 that keeps my father and me apart, but a bridge that keeps us connected. And now I am the one 20 sending recipe cards to my father's house, just as my grandmother did for me.

    I was a single mother of four small children, working at a low-paid job. Money was always1, but we had a roof over our heads, food on the table, 2on our backs. It was Christmas time, we3 downtown to see the Christmas lights, and enjoyed a special dinner, 4 the big excitement for the kids was the fun of Christmas 5 at the market. They talked and planned for weeks ahead of time, 6 each other what they wanted for Christmas.

    The big day arrived and we started out early. I 7 each kid a twenty-dollar bill and asked them to8for presents. Then everyone scattered (散开).

    Back in the car driving home, everyone was9 about Christmas, laughing and asking each other about what they had10 . I found my younger daughter, Ginger, had only one small and flat bag with her. I could 11 enough through the plastic 12 to tell that she had bought candy bars— fifty-cents candy bars！What did she13 with that twenty-dollar bill I had given her? I was so14. After getting home, I called her into my bedroom and closed the door. This was15 she told me.

    "I was looking around and thinking of what to buy, and I 16 to read the little cards on one of the Salvation Army's 'Giving Trees'. One of the cards was 17a little girl, four years old, and all she 18 for Christmas was a doll with clothes and a hairbrush. So I took the card off the 19 and bought the doll for her. We have so much and she doesn't have anything."

    My anger 20 and I had never felt so rich as I did that day.

In May 2019, a friend who had previously been involved in the Restless Development Sierra Leone Business Brains project encouraged me to apply for the "Saving Lives II" project. Seeing this as an opportunity to move closer to my ambition of working in the medical field in the near future, I eagerly seized the chance. Fortunately, my performance during the interview led to me being awarded the role. 

Following the basic training, I was sent to volunteer in Kurubonla, a remote community located in the northern region of Sierra Leone. This assignment presented challenges such as limited road access and communication networks. At first, I felt concerned about being sent there, but with a determined mindset, I set out on the journey, driven by a passion to contribute to my country's development and to push my personal boundaries. 

As I got to know the community, I quickly realized that the challenges extended beyond language barriers and cultural differences; there was also a sense of isolation from my peers. However, I refused to allow these challenges to stop me. I threw myself in my duties, working together with local leaders and community members to identify the most pressing needs. Together, we carried out the projects aimed at improving healthcare, education, and infrastructure (基础设施). Additionally, I organized workshops and training courses to share my knowledge and skills with the locals. 

Over time, I witnessed the positive impact of our collective efforts. Healthcare facilities improved, the number of students in schools increased, and the overall quality of life in the community showed signs of improvement. These achievements were not solely mine; they were a testament to the cooperative spirit and commitment of the entire community. 

While conquering the world's swimming pools in the late 1990s and the 2000s, Amanda Beard had already included breathing exercises in her training. Several years after the end of her athletic career, she discovered walking meditation. Today the seven-time US Olympic medalist practices walking meditation in nature, around the house, or while walking the dog. It's a daily practice with the focused mindfulness of meditation that contributes positively to every aspect of her life, she says. 

You don't need equipment or a designated space to start. The idea of a walking meditation is to pay attention to the way your body feels, noticing things like the sky, trees, tuning into all of your senses. This means you can meditate "on the go" in the countryside, in the city, in your backyard, and virtually anywhere. A simple, 10-minute walking meditation for beginners requires that you just start at ease. Consider what you hear, smell and see. Think about how your feet touch the ground. Fully focus on these feelings. 

A report in Health Promotion Perspectives also found that walking meditation can improve your balance, adjust your heart rate, boost your mental focus, and help you battle anxiety and depression. "The benefits of meditation are many," says Dr. Schramm, a board-certified family physician and meditation teacher. "When we do this over and over again, we train the brain to focus on only one thing at a time and this increases both our blood flow and actual neuronal (神经元) changes within our brains. "

"The magic of meditation is to be able to help you connect with yourself; meditation shouldn't feel a certain way," says Tara Stiles, a yoga and wellness expert. It's a common mistake in meditation: People fear a wandering mind. "A wandering mind is completely normal," Stiles says. "Even experienced meditators aren't sitting there never having a thought, but when they have the thought they choose to guide themselves back to their breath instead of getting frustrated.